By a vote of 66 to 27 on Monday evening, the full Senate passed its version of a 2013 Farm Bill which includes mandatory funding for renewable energy programs. “Specifically, the $900 million in mandatory funding to critical rural energy programs will help provide the certainty investors and businesses need to keep making renewable fuels from diverse feedstocks, from corn …
RFA Releases Rail Transportation Information
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has released the “Guidelines for Hinged and Bolted Manway Assembly” in conjunction with the start of the 2013 Fuel Ethanol Workshop. The publication is a powerful resource for ethanol shippers to ensure the safe transport of ethanol through the rail system. The guidelines explain in detail the correct assembly of a manway, the proper steps …
USTR Nominee Answers EU Ethanol Export Question
The issue of the European Union’s treatment of ethanol imports from the United States came up during a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing Thursday for U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) nominee Michael Froman. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) noted that he and a number of other senators sent a letter in April to the Acting USTR asking for an investigation into the …
Iowa Retailer Says Big Oil Disrupting E15 Sales
An Iowa congressman and a fuel retailer in his state are claiming that the oil companies’ fuel distribution monopoly is forcing the discontinuation of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) sales during the summer. Representative Bruce Braley (D-IA) joined Linn Coop Oil Company service manager Jim Becthold and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw for a press conference at …
Green Plains to Buy Nebraska Ethanol Plant
Green Plains Renewable Energy has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the membership interests of Choice Ethanol Holdings, owners of the former NEDAK Ethanol ethanol plant in Atkinson, Neb. The purchase also includes an ethanol storage and loading facility located near the plant. The dry-mill ethanol plant will add approximately 50 million gallons of operating capacity to Green Plains’ current …
Ethanol Supporters Disappointed in Florida Bill
A bill repealing Florida’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) was signed into law Friday by Gov. Rick Scott to the disappointment of many ethanol and other biofuel supporters. State Representative Debbie Mayfield of Vero Beach, led the opposition to the repeal of the requirement which was passed in 2008 when her late husband Stan Mayfield chairman of the Florida House energy …
RFA Honored for Emergency Readiness Training
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) was honored today with the “2012 TRANSCAER® National Achievement Award,” at the Association of American Railroads/Bureau of Explosives HazMat Seminar in Addison, Texas. RFA received the award for its commitment to the goals of TRANSCAER® and for its role in educating communities on how to handle chemical transportation emergencies. TRANSCAER® (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency …
EPA Proposes RFS Amendments
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) amendments and clarifications, which include new pathway determinations for advanced biofuels such as isobutanol and ethanol from crop residues. The EPA proposal also includes “various changes to the E15 misfueling mitigation regulations (E15 MMR) which are minor technical corrections and amendments to sections dealing with labeling, E15 surveys, product …
Groups Seek to End EU Duty on US Ethanol
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy have filed a complaint with the General Court in Luxembourg challenging the European Union’s (EU) decision to impose a 9.6 percent antidumping duty on all ethanol imported from the United States. The complaint outlines 10 specific violations of one established trade law committed by the European Commission in its investigation of anti-dumping …
No Mandatory Energy Funding in House Farm Bill
The House Agriculture Committee passed the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) of 2013 by a vote of 36 to 10 late Wednesday night. While the bill does contain an energy title, an amendment to make funding of energy programs mandatory was defeated. “We thank the entire committee for reauthorizing the programs, but mandatory funding is vital to …